Prayer for the Dead in Purgatory

O God of all holiness, infinitely pure and adorable Being! how great must be thy horror of the least stain of sin, since thou punishest so rigorously in the flames of purgatory the venial faults of those whom thou so tenderly lovest. Ah! mercifully enlighten my understanding, that the torments thou inflictest on the least offence in the other world, may teach me the enormity of sin, and penetrate my heart with compassion for those souls who are now enduring inexpressible pains, for such failings as, perhaps, I too often look on as trivial. My God, though thy justice banishes them from that kingdom, where nothing defiled can enter, yet, surely, thy mercy has not forgotten them; no, thou art too good, too compassionate to abandon the work of thy own hands. Though the season for merit and repentance is now past for them, yet thou hast left them a resource in the prayers of thy servants on earth. Despise not, then, O Lord, the supplication which I, thy unworthy child, now make for those who can no longer implore thy mercy for themselves. Remember, O infinite Goodness, that they are all the work of thy hands, redeemed by the precious blood of thy only Son: consider that they are the objects of thy infinite love, who burn with the most ardent desire to be united to thee. Have mercy on them, then, O infinite mercy! and for thy own sake stretch forth to their relief those sacred hands by which they were formed; apply to them once more the merits of that adorable blood by which they were redeemed. I most humbly offer up, to implore this favour, the adorable sacrifice of the Mass, at which I shall assist this day, or to morrow, all the Masses which will be celebrated throughout the world, together with the adorable actions, prayers, and infinite merits of Jesus Christ while on earth; to which I most humbly add all my thoughts, words, actions, prayers, and sufferings, during this day. Mercifully accept this oblation, O Lord, on behalf of all who now suffer in purgatory, particularly those for whom thou desirest I should pray — those who are most dear to me — those to whose sufferings I may have been in any respect accessary — those who are most forgotten by others, and who have no one to pray for them. Give them all speedy repose and eternal rest, O merciful Father of all mankind! and give me the grace I stand in need of, for spending the time in such a manner as may, through thy infinite goodness, tend to the great object I dare to have in view, which is the repose of thy dear and suffering children.

Give them, O Lord, eternal rest, and let perpetual light shine unto them. Amen.